William Burke (1841-1919)
County Sligo, Ireland |Baptism = Roman Catholic |Death = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |Burial = Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery Yeadon, Pennsylvania |Father = John Burke (c1820-?) |Mother = Mary X (c1820-?) |Spouse = Margaret Kane (1846-1912) |Marriage = 1868 |Children = John Joseph Burke I (1868-1939) Mary Ellen Burke (1870-1957) |2nd Spouse = |2nd Marriage = |3rd Spouse = |3rd Marriage = |4th Spouse = |4th Marriage = |5th Spouse = |5th Marriage = }} William Burke (1841-1919) was an immigrant from Ireland to the United States. He was a horse car driver in 1870 and later a milk dealer in Jersey City, New Jersey. (b. March 19, 1841, County Sligo, Ireland - d. July 29, 1919, Philadelphia General Hospital, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, USA) Parents Mary and John Burke (c1820-?). Birth William was born on March 19, 1841, possibly in County Sligo, Ireland. That date was used in his death certificate, and in the 1870 census he was listed as 30 years old. Mary Jane Burke (1941), a descendant, said he was born in County Sligo, Ireland. Civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths began in Ireland in 1864. Previous to that year events were recorded by the church and the may not be extant. Approximately half the Church of Ireland parish registers were held at the Public Record Office and they were destroyed in 1922 in a fire and explosion during the Battle of Dublin of the Irish Civil War. Emigration He emigrated to the United States on February 15, 1863 at age 18, to New York City. Marriage He married Margaret Kane (1846-1912) around 1867, most likely in Jersey City, New Jersey. However they do not appear in the New Jersey marriage index that runs from May 1848 to May 1878. Children According to the 1900 US census they only had two children and both were alive: *John Joseph Burke I (1868-1939) who married Nora M. Finn (1866-1898) and after her death married Josephine Smith (1875-1962) *Mary Ellen Burke (1870-1957) who married Richard B. Patterson II (1869-1930). Naturalization He was naturalized as a US citizen on October 27, 1874 in Jersey City and his certificate was handed down in the family and was last with his great-grandson, Vincent Gerard Norton (1923-2005) in Sarasota, Florida in 2005. Occupation He was a horse car driver in 1870. Later he was a milk dealer from his home at 26 Atlantic Avenue in Jersey City, New Jersey. Marriage of son Around 1889, his son, John married Nora M. Finn (1866-1898) and she gave birth to Mary Margaret Burke (1890-1949) aka May Burke. In 1898 Nora died of pneumonia and Mary was raised by Nora's sister, Catherine Elizabeth Finn (1864-1918) aka Kate Finn, who worked as a secretary at a pencil company. In 1899 John Burke then married Josephine Smith (1875-1962) and they had five children together. John had trouble earning enough money to support his children so the girls were raised by his sister, Mary Burke. Daughter may have adopted children Mary Ellen Burke (1870-1957) raised the two children from her husband's previous marriage: Leona Veronica Patterson; and John Patterson. Jersey City, New Jersey The family was living at 26 Atlantic Avenue in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1900. John did not list an occupation. Pennsylvania By 1910 William Burke and his wife, Margaret, retired to Delaware County, Pennsylvania and lived with their daughter, Mary Ellen Burke, and her husband, Richard B. Patterson II . Death of wife Margaret died on June 12, 1912 and William bought a cemetery plot in Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery in Yeadon, Pennsylvania. The deed was in the possession of Vincent Gerard Norton (1923-2005) in Florida as of 2005, and is now with his son Kenneth. Death William Burke died on July 29, 1919 at the Philadelphia General Hospital in Philadelphia. He died of Alzheimer's disease and his death certificate lists the cause of death as "exhaustion from senile dementia". He was listed as a milk dealer. Burial He was buried in Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery, Yeadon, Pennsylvania, There are no markers for any of the graves. The plot contains: *Margaret Kane (1846-1912) wife of William Burke *William Burke (1841-1919) *Richard B. Patterson II (1869-1930) husband of Mary Burke *Mary Ellen Burke (1870-1957) daughter of William and Margaret *Bertha Marie Burke (1902-1971) granddaughter of William and Margaret *Josephine Veronica Burke (1907-1995) granddaughter of William and Margaret Archive The deed to his cemetery plot and his naturalization certificate were handed down in the family and were last with his second great-grandson, Kenneth Stephen Norton (1955- ) in Sarasota, Florida in 2007. Update Updated on March 20, 2009 by Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ) with information from the 1870 census. This changed his birth date and added a new occupation. External links *William Burke (1841-1919) at Geni.com *William Burke (1841-1919) at Facebook *William Burke (1841-1919) at Findagrave *William Burke (1841-1919) at Flickr *William Burke (1841-1919) at Knol See also *William Burke (1841-1919)/Notes Research *Mary Jane Burke (1941) said he was born in County Sligo, Ireland. Images File:Document missing.png|1841 baptism File:Document missing.png|1867 marriage most likely in Jersey City, New Jersey File:1870 census Burke Kane.jpg|1870 US census Image:Burke-William naturalization 02a.gif|1874 naturalization certificate of October 27 handed down in the family Image: Document missing.png|1880 US census File:1885 census Burke Kane.png|1885 New Jersey census Image:USCityDirectories18211989Beta 442791946.jpg|1890 directory Image:3368753157 a97433fa3c o.jpg|1890-1891 milk dealers in Jersey City Image:Burke-William milkdealer.gif|1890-1891 milk dealers in Jersey City Image:Burke-William 1895 01gif.gif|1895 circa William Burke (1845-1919) Image:Burke-MaryMargaret 02d.jpg|1895 circa Burkes in Jersey City Image:Burke-MaryMargaret 04 original.jpg|1895 circa Burkes in Jersey City (annotated) File:Document missing.png|1895 New Jersey census 1900 census Burke Kane.jpg|1900 US census File:Document missing.png|1905 New Jersey census or may have moved to Pennsylvania which had no census File:1910 census Patterson Burke Kane.jpg|1910 US census living in Morton, Pennsylvania Image:Burke-William-Death 1919.gif|1919 William Burke (1845-1919) death certificate Image:Burke burial PA 01.gif|William Burke (1845-1919) cemetery deed References Category: Non-SMW people articles Category: Migrants from Ireland to New Jersey Category: Burials at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery, Yeadon, Pennsylvania